November 8 is the “Synaxis of the Holy, Heavenly, Bodiless Powers”, or Saint Michael the Archangel, and all the choirs of Angels. This includes our own Guardian Angels. Some say that we have guardian angels assigned to us when we are conceived in our mother's wombs. Others say, as in the baptismal ritual, that they are given to us when we are baptized. Either way, we are blessed with angels who try to steer us in the right direction and watch over us.

The Presentation of the Theotokos into the Temple, also called The Entrance of Our Lady into the Temple, is one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the Byzantine Rite, celebrated on November 21.

Saint Nicholas is the special patron of our own Byzantine-Ruthenian Catholic Church. The center of monastic life and the residence of the bishops of our Church was the monastery of Saint Nicholas in the town of Mukachevo, for at least 900 years. Such is his fame and importance that every iconostas in every church that uses the Byzantine rite, Catholic or Orthodox, must have his icon at the north end of the screen.

December 12 is the feast of the Theotokos of Guadalupe. Under this title, the Mother of God is invoked as the patroness of the Americas, as well as of Mexico, and as such is included in our liturgical calendar with all honor. In our day, she is invoked as the protectress of the unborn against abortion, as she is revealed in the miraculous image as being pregnant.

All the great Fathers and Mothers and Prophets of the Old Testament, starting with Adam, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are called to mind this weekend including such figures as the Holy Prophets Elias and Daniel. The Church brings them to our attention now, right before Christmas, largely because of their faith – their belief in the promise given by God to Adam during his expulsion from the garden of Eden, that in the end a Savior will come into the world and will redeem mankind from original sin.

The Sunday of the Ancestors celebrates the men and women in Jesus' family tree. Just like ordinary families, there are some people of whom we know little, and some that we'd rather not know about at all! This genealogy shows that Jesus is open to all people, of all backgrounds, just as His Church is.

The Byzantine Christmas greeting Christ is born! Glorify Him! was already common in the mid-300s. St Gregory Nazianzen starts his famous Christmas sermon with those words, and Eastern Christians have been saying this during the twelve days of Christmas for over 1700 years. Jesus laid in the manger – the feed trough for the animals which is transformed into the feeding place for people who worship Christ.

Saint Stephen was one of the first seven deacons, and the first martyr to die for Christ. Thus, he is known as the protomartyr. He was one of the Greek deacons (Stephanos), and in Acts he is described as filled with the Holy Spirit and "full of grace and strength" (Acts 6: 5-8).

Today we celebrate three important saints who are connected with Jesus: David the King, Joseph His foster-father, and James the Just.